''The Four Companions'' (german: Die vier Gesellen) is a 1938 German

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Carl Froelich Carl August Hugo Froelich (5 September 1875 – 12 February 1953) was a German film pioneer and film director. He was born and died in Berlin. Biography Apparatus builder and cameraman From 1903 Froelich was a colleague of Oskar Messter, one of ...

and starring

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary ''Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is often ...

Sabine Peters Sabine Peters (29 December 1912 – 10 October 1982) was a German film actress. Peters emerged as a film actress during the Nazi era, and played largely supporting roles. She was one of the companions of the title in the 1938 Ingrid Bergman vehi ...

and

Carsta Löck Carsta Löck (28 December 1902 – 9 October 1993) was a German film actress. Selected filmography * ''Refugees'' (1933) * '' Ripening Youth'' (1933) * '' The Double Fiance'' (1934) * ''Trouble with Jolanthe'' (1934) * ''Police Report'' (1934) ...

. Jochen Huth adapted the script from his own play. It was shot at the

Tempelhof Studios The Tempelhof Studios are a film studio located in Tempelhof in the German capital of Berlin. They were founded in 1912, during the silent era, by German film pioneer Alfred Duskes, who built a glass-roofed studio on the site with financial back ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

with sets designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Franz Schroedter Franz Schroedter (9 May 1897 – 14 November 1968) was a German art director.Giesen p.212 Selected filmography * '' The Black Count'' (1920) * ''The Dance of Love and Happiness'' (1921) * ''The New Paradise'' (1921) * '' The Queen of Whitechapel ...

. The film was intended as a star vehicle to launch Bergman's career in Germany following her success in several Swedish films.Lunde p. 157

Synopsis

After graduation, four female art students attempt to set up their own

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...

Cast

as Marianne Kruge *

as Käthe Winter *

as Lotte Waag *

Ursula Herking Ursula Herking (28 January 1912 – 17 November 1974) was a German film actress. She appeared in more than 130 films between 1933 and 1972. She was born in Dessau, Germany and died in Munich, West Germany. Selected filmography * '' Susann ...

as Franziska *

Hans Söhnker Hans Söhnker (11 October 1903 – 20 April 1981) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1933 and 1980. He was born in Kiel, Germany and died in Berlin, Germany. Selected filmography * '' The Tsarevich'' (1933) – ...

as Stefan Kohlund *

Leo Slezak Leo Slezak (; 18 August 1873 – 1 June 1946) was a Moravian dramatic tenor. He was associated in particular with Austrian opera as well as the title role in Verdi's ''Otello''. He is the father of actors Walter Slezak and Margarete Slezak and ...

as Professor Lange *

Erich Ponto Erich Johannes Bruno Ponto (14 December 1884 – 14 February 1957) was a German film and stage actor. Career Erich Ponto was born in Lübeck as the son of a merchant. After his family had moved to Hamburg-Eimsbüttel, he attended the gymnasium ...

as Regierungsrat Alfred Hintze *

Heinz Welzel Heinz Welzel (1911–2002) was a German stage, television and film actor. He was also a noted voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called vo ...

as Feinmechaniker Martin Bachmann *

Rudolf Klicks Rudolf Klicks (21 May 1917 – 5 September 1997) was a German film actor.Koster p.116 Selected filmography * '' Tannenberg'' (1932) * '' Girls of Today'' (1933) * '' The Riders of German East Africa'' (1934) * ''The Champion of Pontresina'' (1934 ...

as Direktor der graphischen Berufsschule *

Karl Haubenreißer Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austria ...

as Direktor der Seidenstrumpffabrik * Lotte Braun as Sekretärin des Fabrikdirektors * Wilhelm P. Krüger as Maurermeister am Neubau *

Willi Rose Wilhelm Bernhard Max Rose (4 February 1902 – 16 June 1978) was a German actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1936 to 1978. Selected filmography References External links * 1902 births 1978 deaths German male fi ...

as Straßenbahnschaffner * Max Rosenhauer as Hauswart *

Ernst G. Schiffner Ernst Günther Schiffner (23 July 1903, Marienwerder, West Prussia – 20 March 1980, Hamburg or Celle) was a German actor and director. Life The merchant's son had already played theater since 1919 and received his first roles at the Schauspie ...

as Geschäftsmann, der keinen Auftrag erteilt *

Hans Juergen Weidlich Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi a ...

as Berliner Jüngling an der Litfaßsäule *

Kurt Mikulski Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt means "Wolf" and i ...

as Ausstellungsdiener * Fritz Lafontaine as 1. Grafikschüler *

Gustaf Dennert Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: * Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short car ...

as 2. Grafikschüler *

Zarah Leander Zarah Leander (; 15 March 1907 – 23 June 1981) was a Swedish singer and actress whose greatest success was in Germany between 1936 and 1943, when she was contracted to work for the state-owned Universum Film AG (UFA). Although no exact record ...

as Singer *

Traute Bengen Traute is a Germanic feminine given name derived from "trud" meaning "strength". The name is now most commonly found in Germany and German-speaking countries. It is often used as a diminutive of the given names ending in -traud, -traut and -trud, ...

Hugo Froelich Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on a ...

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* 1938 films Films of Nazi Germany German drama films German black-and-white films 1938 drama films 1930s German-language films Films set in Berlin Films directed by Carl Froelich German films based on plays Films about fictional painters Films about advertising UFA GmbH films 1930s German films Films shot at Tempelhof Studios {{1930s-Germany-film-stub